Tess sat in the parlor sipping a cup of tea and watching the birds peck at the ground in the garden. Though she lived in a mansion sized estate house, it felt small after the startling news she had received that morning.
"I- but-" she stammered.
"I'm very sorry, Miss." the policeman offered before putting his helmet back on and dismissing himself to the exit.
How could he be dead? She had just seen her uncle that morning. A few short hours ago. How could an automobile collision take him from her so quickly?
"Madam?" Mrs. Schwartz said gently, interrupting Tess's thoughts. "Are you ready to eat?"
"I'm not hungry." Tess said numbly.
"You need to eat." Mrs. Schwartz urged.
Tess's eyes filled with fresh tears as she looked at the Housekeeper that had helped raise her after her family's tragedies.
After the tragic boating accident that took her mother, father, and aunt when she was twelve, Tess was taken in by her Uncle and became the daughter he never had and her cousin Phillip, became like a brother.
Tess closed her eyes. Phillip would be here soon and the two would begin the arrangements for burial since Jewish law required it within twenty-four hours of death. She hoped he was alright, he had lost his mother when he was just seventeen and now his father too. The only family they had left was each other.
When Phillip walked in, Tess was waiting for him near the door.
"Phillip, I'm-" Tess started, ready to express her remorse and weep into his chest, but stopped as Phillip walked by without a word or glance in her direction.
He's mourning. She reasoned with herself, making excuses for his cold entrance. Tess followed Phillip toward her uncle's study, and gasped as he flung the door closed, just short of hitting her nose. Tess looked at Mrs. Schwartz who held a disapproving yet knowledgeable look that Tess didn't understand.
"C'mon, Miss. Let's get you changed." Mrs. Schwartz said as she ushered Tess toward her bedroom where a black dress awaited her.
When the study door opened, Tess was leaning against the wall waiting. Phillip stepped out and looked at her for the first time that day.
"Phillip!" Tess began to sob as she flung her arms around his neck in grief.
Phillip placed his hands on her back but remained short of embracing her as she expelled her sorrow at losing the only parent-like figure she'd had for the last thirteen years. Tess pulled back when she felt Phillip look at his watch behind her back and looked up at him in confusion.
"We are going to be late." He told her as he removed her arms from around his neck and strode toward the exit.
When they arrived at the burial site, Tess felt a new wave of emotion as she saw the gravestone marking her parents' graves and covered her mouth with a shaking hand to contain her grief. She remembered the fear and grief she had felt when they died. If it hadn't been for her uncle, there is no telling where she would have been taken to. And so she grieved again. He wasn't her father but he had treated her no different than his daughter and she had lost him too. When the service was over, the two went back to the house with the funeral attendees and began their official time of mourning.
"You wanted to see me?" Tess asked her cousin, who hadn't made eye contact with her let alone speak to her during the previous eight days.
"Yes." Phillip said cheerfully as he held a banknote toward her. "This is yours."
Tess reached forward, grabbing it and holding it in her hands before looking up at him in confusion. "A pound?"
"Yes. That should do you well until you get your own income." He said, looking down and beginning to write in a book.
"My own-?"
"Yes." He insisted.
"You want me to get a job?" Tess guessed.
"Well you will need to." Phillip replied. "Food and shelter are not just given away."
Tess froze, shock making her body go cold. "What are you saying?" She asked, her voice barely audible.
"Your sponging off of this house has come to an end. The time of mourning has passed, I have had Mrs. Schwartz prepare a small bag for you and the car is waiting outside to take you to the nearest train station." Phillip stopped writing and glanced up in thought. "Assuming you can get a ticket for a pound. What is the going rate for a train ticket these days?" Shaking away his wandering thoughts he continued, "Doesn't matter. You will think of something I'm sure."
"You're putting me out?" Tess blurted. "But, Uncle had always said-"
"My father is dead. This house is mine and you are no longer welcome in it." He interjected. "See yourself out."
Dismissed. She was dismissed by her cousin… from the second home she has ever had. The home her uncle promised she would always be welcome to stay in as long as she wanted. Admittedly, twenty-five and unmarried was rare for those in her circle but her uncle refused to let any of the men who have come calling court her, saying they were not well suited for her when in reality he simply believed she deserved better than what they had to offer.
Her body was numb and it wasn't until a hand was placed gently on her shoulder that she tore her eyes away from the desk her cousin remained behind, working diligently.
"Come, child." Mrs. Schwartz said gently ushering her out of the room.
"I don't understand!" Tess finally said, coming out of her stupor as Mrs. Schwartz put a cold rag on her forehead.
"Your cousin has been jealous of you since the day you moved in." Mrs. Schwartz replied. "He has wanted you gone for quite some time."
Tess gave a look of unbelief.
"Don't look at me like that." Mrs. Schwartz chastised. "It's true. Your uncle favored you likely because you look so like your mother and aunt. Meanwhile he and Phillip have had many arguments."
"We were like siblings! He's like my brother!" Tess argued, resulting in an unamused expression from her former housekeeper.
"It's time to grow up, Miss Tess." Mrs. Schwartz said flatly, causing Tess to blink back tears. "All you've got is a pound to your name and that won't get you far."
Tess shook her head. "My parents left me money. Uncle put it in an account and-" She cut off as Mrs. Schwartz shook her head in disapproval.
"It's gone." The woman explained.
"How can it be gone? I haven't touched a penny." Tess insisted.
"Your uncle had intended to refill it before you knew. Your cousin accumulated debts. Gambling on horses and with cards. He stole the money and when your uncle found out they had it out."
"When was this?"
"About a year ago. What money your uncle managed to put in the account during that time I'm sure is gone now that your cousin has hold of the books."
"What am I going to do?" Tess began to panic. "I don't have anything! A pound is just enough for him to say he gave me money, but it's nothing! How am I supposed to survive? I don't have any skills! You have to have skills to get work!"
"I have a solution."
"If you think I'm going to work for him after he-"
"No, no. That would never work for a number of reasons." Mrs. Schwartz agreed. "I, too, have a cousin."
"I hope he's better than mine." Tess said tersely, crossing her arms.
Mrs. Schwartz smiled, "She is. She has worked as a maid for many years now. Unfortunately, her brother has fallen ill and she has to care for him."
"That's awful." Tess offered, stepping away from her own grief to give sympathy.
"It is for the family, however, it presents an opportunity for you."
"How?"
"The house she is leaving needs a new maid." Mrs. Schwartz pointed out. "I have already arranged everything with her. She was hesitant but I persuaded her to select you as her replacement."
"I don't know anything about being a maid." Tess ran a hand down her face before exhaling and finally accepting her fate. "Can you teach me?"
"I would, however, the man whose house you will be working in is very different from any house I have worked in. So Edna will show you what you need to know. She has resigned her post already and will only have a few days to show you everything. You must pay close attention. Alright?"
"Different how?"
"The car is waiting for you, you don't want to miss the last train." Mrs. Schwartz put Tess's bag in her hand and began to push her toward the door.
"But-" Tess sputtered as she walked with the older woman toward the door. "I don't even know where I am going! What if I don't have enough for a ticket?"
"There is a bit more money in the bag, not much but enough to get you there and the address where you'll be lodging."
"Where? And Whose house am I going to?" Tess stopped, forcing Mrs. Schwartz to look at her.
"Camden Town." Mrs. Schwartz sighed before answering, "A Mr. Solomons."